


Dreamscape: A Workforce AU

by sara_sedai



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Kissing, Memory Loss, Rescue Mission, Romance, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-01 09:32:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16762504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_sedai/pseuds/sara_sedai
Summary: This is a J/C love story. The full story is now posted. If you like reading about Kathryn and Chakotay hooking up, you'll probably enjoy this :)This story is a re-write of WorkForce (s7e16). The key differences are that Chakotay was captured along with the rest of the crew, so he’s on Quarra with no memories of Voyager, and Tom was never captured and he’s working his ass off (along with Harry, Neelix, and the Doctor) trying to save the crew.Rated explicit for sex and swearing.All characters in this story are the property of Paramount, as is the general Workforce plot.





	1. A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaptKJaneway (my beta reader in 2011)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=CaptKJaneway+%28my+beta+reader+in+2011%29).



> This was my very first fanfic, written in 2011 for VAMB (an amazingly supportive group of readers & writers).

Chakotay stepped onto the walkway arcing above the reactor coil monitoring stations. It was his second day on the job here at the plant—so far so good. The Plant Supervisor seemed impressed with his qualifications, impressed enough to create a new management position for him that matched his skill set more closely than any of the existing positions.

“Employee 6960,” the new Efficiency Monitor greeted him.

“Chakotay,” he smiled and offered his hand. Chakotay watched as she hesitated a moment before fitting her hand in his and then quickly withdrawing it.

“Annika Hansen.” She appeared uncomfortable yet confident. Chakotay eyed the implants on her hands and face. _Borg_. His skin itched and he wished he had a weapon on him. He shoved the thought aside. _She’s obviously no longer part of the collective. She’s not going to assimilate me._

“I have been informed that you are our Employee Relations Manager and that I am to report disorderly conduct to you,” Annika said, her attention on the data device in her hand.

Chakotay nodded, “Yes, and Recruitment and Training also report to me.”

“That is correct.” Annika gestured in the direction of Chakotay’s office. He turned to enter his office and she followed. He spent the next 2 hours being briefed on protocol, procedure, and human relations codes. After she left, he met with other members of his staff and learned that more than a hundred highly qualified employees had been hired this week, many of them human. He wondered if he’d recognize them from the transport ship that he’d taken from Earth. He started flipping through their records and while their faces seemed familiar none of the names were. He put the employee records down and went back studying the dispute resolution procedures.

**********

Kathryn stood patiently at her station waiting for the Supervisor to provide the required specifications. She thought back on her first conversation with him. He seemed impressed with her qualifications; impressed enough to take her late arrival in stride, on her first day on the job no less. He also seemed firm but understanding. She was certain she’d have no trouble working with him. She let her gaze travel around the workstations that surrounded her. The people looked focused, efficient, and surprisingly happy—another sign that this was the right place to be.

The Supervisor returned and passed her a data device. She nodded in thanks and looked down at the specifications. She entered her authorization code and then entered the command code. “Input error 415,” her console announced loudly, “Command code violation 2308.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Kathryn leaned into the console and whispered fiercely, “Come on, shut off that damn alarm, and I promise I’ll never violate you again.”

She jumped slightly as an arm brushed past her and pressed a series of buttons on the console. “You almost started a core overload.” Kathryn turned and looked up at the tall and surprisingly attractive man who had saved the plant from… well… her.

“I would have corrected it,” Kathryn stuck her chin out and looked him straight in the eye.

“Well, I’m sorry for interrupting then, and for eavesdropping.” The man smiled a bit mischievously and then lowered his voice, “I overheard you talking to your console.”

“It’s an old habit.” Kathryn grinned, feeling relieved that a reprimand or report wasn’t heading her way.

“Does it work?” The man’s gray eyes danced. _Nice eyes_ , Kathryn noted.

“I’m not sure if this control panel and I speak the same language yet,” she patted it gingerly.

“Well, if you need an interpreter,” he offered his hand, “Jaffen.”

Kathryn shook his hand and gave him her most winning smile, “Kathryn.”

“I work just down there.” Jaffen pointed at a station two metres away.

“Good to know,” Kathryn glanced over at his station.

“This station does not require two operators.” A tall, blond woman in a management uniform approached them.

Jaffen turned to face her, “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m–“

“Employee 1326,” The blond woman turned to face Kathryn, “and you are employee 8584. Since you are new here, you may not be fully familiar with the labour protocols, but you,” she looked back at Jaffen, “should be aware that fraternizing is not permitted during work hours.”

“And do you have a number, or maybe a name?” Jaffen sounded amused, but his eyes no longer danced.

“Annika Hansen,” the blond watched him coolly.

“And what exactly is your position here?” Jaffen moved slightly to stand between Kathryn and Annika.

“I am the new Efficiency Monitor.”

“Oh, I didn’t know they’d hired one,” he said in an off-handed way.

Annika’s voice became even harder, “Now that you do, I suggest you return to your station.”

Kathryn shook her head slightly and stepped in between them. _No sense riling her. The girl obviously has some kind of chip on her shoulder_. Kathryn attempted to placate Annika, “We weren’t fraternizing. He was just helping me correct an input error. We’re almost finished.”

“Do it quickly,” Annika clipped.

“Yes, ma’am,” Kathryn nodded and turned back to Jaffen after watching Annika stalk off and approach another unsuspecting worker.

“I thought we were fraternizing,” Jaffen leaned on Kathryn’s console and grinned, his eyes travelling down her body and then back up again. “Maybe we could get acquainted after work. There is a little place some of us like to go to. We could get a meal.”

 _Oh that kind of acquainted._ Kathryn shook her head, “I can’t.” She was a bit tempted to spend more time with him, but she also wanted to settle in at the new apartment she’d found just two days back.

He persisted, “You need to talk to someone besides your console.”

“I appreciate the offer, but with this new job I don’t really have time to socialize.” She tilted her head in the direction of his station, her body language telling him to quit leaning on her equipment and mosey on back to his own. He somewhat reluctantly took the hint and left her to her work.

Hours later, Kathryn stepped in the door of her new apartment, dropped her bag on the floor and closed the door behind her. Her mind drifted back on her day. Her first day at work was relatively successful. She had surprised herself by getting through the rest of the day without a single input error. Later that afternoon she surprised herself again by capitulating to Jaffen’s third request that she join him after work. Jaffen… now there was an interesting man. He was friendly, intelligent, kind, and incredibly helpful in deciphering the cryptic code that passed for specifications in those manuals.

Kathryn moved to the washroom to wash up before bed. Her clear blue eyes looked back at her in the mirror. She brushed her shoulder-length auburn hair and allowed her mind to drift back to Jaffen again. He was charming and attractive, with salt and pepper hair, chiseled features, and really nice shoulders. Why hadn’t she wanted to go to his place when he’d invited her? Maybe she just needed more time to adjust. It was only a few months ago that she had left Mark and boarded the transport ship for a better life. This planet seemed almost too good to be true. No violence, a thriving economy, and the city was clean and safe.

Stepping out the washroom, she gently touched the back of her hand thinking of when Jaffen had rested his hand on hers while recounting a story at Umali’s bar. His touch had been gentle and comforting. Maybe she was pushing him away too quickly. Maybe she should give him a chance. He certainly seemed eager to spend more time with her. Kathryn brushed the thought aside. She was tired and she wanted to get an early start tomorrow.

**********


	2. They Meet (Again) for the First Time

Kathryn caught the right transport this morning. She was on time and feeling good about her second day at her new job. She stepped over to her station and entered in her authorization code. She had just started the process to scan the fusion relays when a tall, dark-skinned man with pointed ears touched her elbow, “Excuse me.”

Kathryn turned and looked up into his dark eyes. “Hi,” she said softly. She recognized him.

“I believe we know each other,” he said in a strained voice. He looked like he was in some kind of pain.

“You’re Tuvok, right? We met last week at the shift briefing.” Kathryn had all sorts of alarm bells going off, but not for her personal safety. Her mind raced, attempting to identify the source of internal alarm.

“Before that. Before we were working here.” Tuvok’s eyes drilled into hers.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I mean, we’re obviously not from the same place.” Kathryn said looking at his ears. She frowned; something was definitely wrong here.

“Still I believe I know you…. From the hospital perhaps?”

“What hospital?” Kathryn saw Jaffen take two steps towards her station and she shook her head at him. She was fine. She didn’t need him to come over and rescue her.

“I am not certain.” Tuvok frowned deeply, “We were patients.” He took a step closer to her and firmly grasped her waist. Feeling uncomfortable, she leaned away from him.

“You must have me confused with someone else. I’ve never been sick enough to go to a hospital.” She pushed against his chest, “I’m sorry, I have a lot of work to finish.” He didn’t budge.

“Please, try to remember. It may be important,” he hissed.

“Is there a problem here?” A man stepped forward and put his hand on Tuvok’s shoulder. She could tell from the colour of his uniform that he was one of the managers.

“I think it’s just a misunderstanding, sir,” Kathryn looked at Tuvok with concern. Tuvok’s hands fell away from her sides.

The manager glanced down at the data device in his hands, “Mr. Tuvok?” he asked.

“She is right,” Tuvok fell back and stammered, “It is a… a misunderstanding.”

“Annika,” the manager called out to the Efficiency Monitor, “Can you please help Mr. Tuvok to the infirmary?”

“No, no, I am fine.” Tuvok insisted. “I will go back to my station. Sorry to have bothered you.” He had beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Watching Tuvok stumble away, Kathryn made a mental note to check on him later in the day.

“Maybe he’s feeling sick?” Kathryn suggested.

“I’ll have someone come up from the infirmary to see him. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she turned to face the manager. He had a dark skin tone with jet-black hair and an interesting tattoo splaying from his temple across the left side of his forehead.

“I’m Chakotay, the new Employee Relations Manager.” He offered his hand.

 _Everyone here seems to be new._ Kathryn slipped her hand into his and looked up into his dark eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. Warmth spread rapidly from his palm into hers. A tingling sensation seeped up her arm, across her chest, and flooded the rest of her body. Kathryn’s eyes locked with Chakotay’s.

“And you are?” he asked.

Kathryn felt lost and found all at once. “I am?” She shook her head coming to her senses. “I’m Kathryn,” her voice husky. She slid her hand out of his grasp.

Chakotay smiled and her breath caught again. _Oh my_ , she thought looking at his dimples. “Kathryn,” he repeated her name. “I’m glad you’re fine. Key in this code if you need me. It’s a direct link to the terminal in my office.” He leaned forward and keyed in the code on her console. “Let me know if Tuvok, or anyone else, is making you uncomfortable. My job is to make your life easier.” He grinned and turned to walk away. His words rang in her ears as she watched him weave his way to the lift.

“What was that all about?” Jaffen asked, approaching her station.

“I’m not sure,” Kathryn said, her voice still sounding husky and deep.

Jaffen smiled broadly and leaned up against her console, “So, are we having dinner tonight?”

Kathryn shook her head, “Oh no,” she laughed, playfully pushing him off her console. “You kept me up far too late last night. I’m heading straight home for a quiet evening. Just me, a tub full of hot water, and a book.”

Jaffen smiled, “I could help wash your back,” he flirted blatantly.

Kathryn shook her head, still smiling. “You better get back to your station before the Efficiency Monitor catches us fraternizing.” He shrugged, shot her a grin over his shoulder and walked slowly back to his station. Kathryn turned back to her console and saw the numbers 43563. _Chakotay’s code_. She quickly memorized it and then cleared it off the display. She turned her attention back to the fusion relays.

Twice more that day Jaffen asked her to join him for dinner, and both times she gently turned him down. After her break she went past Tuvok’s station to check on him but he wasn’t there. She wasn’t sure why she felt so concerned for him. She had only met the man twice, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something dreadful was happening, and it was very important that she helped. She decided to visit the Employee Relations Manager at the end of her shift.

**********

Chakotay shuffled the reports on his desk looking for the report on reactions to inoculations. Maybe that man Tuvok was suffering from some kind of side effect. There were only two Vulcans working at the plant. The inoculations could be harmful to them. He made a mental note to check that with the medical staff.

There was a soft rap at his door. Chakotay looked up and saw Kathryn through the window in the door. He smiled broadly. He was pleased to see her again. He wasn’t sure why he was so pleased, but he was. He quickly rose to open the door.

“Kathryn,” he said warmly.

She smiled briefly and stepped into his office. “Sir,” she nodded.

“Chakotay,” he corrected, leaning back against his desk.

“Chakotay,” she echoed. “I stopped by to check on Tuvok and he wasn’t at his station. Do you know if he’s alright?” Kathryn stood by his desk with her feet planted in an at-ease posture.

 _Military trained_ , Chakotay noted. “The medic who came up from the infirmary wasn’t sure what was wrong. She thought it might be stress related and suggested he head home to rest. He left about 4 hours ago.” Chakotay looked down at her. She was incredibly beautiful. His eyes traced her features. She had brilliantly blue eyes, and her red hair shined even in the dull indoor lighting. He longed to run his fingers through it. He shook off the thought, “You two seem to be good friends.”

“Yes,” she replied, and then seemed surprised by her own words. Frowning slightly she continued, “I mean, I just met him last week, but he is a friend, and I’d like to know if he’s alright.”

“I’ll keep you up to date,” Chakotay promised. “So how are you settling in?” He smiled flashing his dimples at her. He noticed her breath quicken and immediately felt drawn to her. He was overcome by a sudden need to slide his fingers along her jawline and up into her red tresses.

“Just fine. People are very friendly here.” She smiled a crooked half-smile, almost a grin, and Chakotay felt like he’d been hit in the gut. _Get a hold of yourself,_ he berated. He’d never reacted to anyone like this before.

“Yes, they are.” He paused, “The food takes some getting used to though.”

Kathryn laughed, a beautiful throaty laugh. Chakotay felt every nerve in his body react to it. He clenched his fists forcing his body to get under control. “Yes, it is rather bland. I’ve been craving chicken biryani all week long.”

“I make a pretty mean vegetable biryani. Not quite the same as chicken, but it’s got a kick to it. Would you like to join me for dinner?” Chakotay held is breath waiting for her answer.

“I’d really like that,” she smiled.


	3. Claiming and Being Claimed

Kathryn sat on the couch cradling a glass of red wine and watching Chakotay move around in his kitchen. He’d just finished replicating the ingredients to make the dinner. “Why not just replicate the meal?” she asked.

“It’s not the same!” he called back.

Kathryn scoffed. She couldn’t see how replicating the ingredients and then chopping them up and cooking them would result in a better meal than replicating the whole dish in one go. She curled her feet under her and decided to enjoy the view. She watched him move quickly about the small kitchen, slicing, dicing, and stirring. He had a beautiful body. She’d be content to sit here and watch him work for hours, maybe days.

“Kathryn,” he glanced back over his shoulder, “can you give me a hand here?”

She set her wine glass on the table in front of the couch and made her way to the kitchen. Standing behind him she paused for a moment, tempted to place her hand on his back. He turned and smiled an incredibly sexy smile. She melted a little. “A hand with what?” she asked in a throaty voice.

His eyes darted down to her mouth for one second and then back up to her eyes. “Can you stir this for a moment?” Her fingers brushed his when he passed the utensil to her. Her breathing accelerated a bit as that same tingling sensation seeped from his fingertips across to hers. What would it feel like to have his fingers slide down her body? She shook the thought off and stirred the concoction on the stove. _Quit acting like an oversexed teenager._

“That smells wonderful.” She leaned forward to breathe in the scents of the food.

“It’s almost done,” he added a few spices, then took the utensil back from her hand and spooned the mixture over some rice. He placed it in a small device, “Convection Heat to 190 Celsius and hold at that temperature for 40 minutes.” The device beeped in response.

He turned and sauntered out of the kitchen. Picking up his abandoned glass of wine, he settled onto the couch. “Now we wait.”

Kathryn smiled a slow smile and walked over to sit beside him. “So why did you leave Earth?” she asked tucking her feet under her.

“It was time,” he said ambiguously.

She raised an eyebrow in response, allowing the silence to drag out a bit. She noticed that it wasn’t an awkward silence. It was comfortable, peaceful, and natural.

“I lost my family. Cardassians attacked my home world.” His voice became so soft she had to lean in close to hear him. “I’d been on Earth at the time of the attack, begging the powers that be to intervene to help save my world. They actually said they would send aid, but it was too little too late. There was nothing left for me there. I needed to make a fresh start.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly.

He nodded. “They were good people. They deserved better.” He sounded angry. It was a controlled anger, dull and cold.

Kathryn looked down into her glass. This time the silence was less comfortable.

“You?” he asked briefly touching her arm.

Again his touch triggered a cascade of sensations that swayed and rocked her to her core. She sucked in air and looked up into his eyes. She didn’t want to talk about home. She wanted to crawl on to his lap, straddle him, and bury her face in his neck. She licked her lips and looked up into his eyes, “It was time,” she said softly.

Chakotay chuckled. Her eyes fixed on him as he took a sip of wine. She wondered, if she kissed him, would it taste better than the wine in her glass? She unconsciously leaned into him. Chakotay’s hand slowly came up and he slid his fingers along her jawline and into her hair. She leaned back against the palm of his hand, thrilling in the sensation. Her whole body was humming. She felt blissfully happy.

“Kathryn,” his voice was a soft growl. He pulled her closer for a kiss. Pausing before claiming her mouth, his eyes asking silently for permission.

“Yes,” she breathed in answer to his silent question, her lips brushing against his.

He moaned softly and pulled her to him. Her body became alive like it had never been before. She could feel his lips moving insistently against hers, his tongue delving into her mouth. _Mmm, much better than wine._ Liquid heat pulsed through her. She shifted her weight as their tongues duelled and then straddled him, grinding her hips against his. Her body cried out for his touch. She needed to feel him against her, every inch of him. She pushed her hands up under his shirt and hissed with satisfaction when her hands contacted his skin.

He broke free from the kiss, gasping and arching into her palms. His eyes were deep, dark, liquid pools of desire. “Kathryn,” he said urgently, “We need to slow down, or I won’t be able to stop myself.” He seemed to cringe a bit with the words, as if he felt some shame in being unable to reign in his desire.

Feeling empowered by inspiring an uncontrollable desire, she leaned forward, running her tongue along his lower lip, “Don’t stop.”

He growled and plunged his hands into her hair, his mouth claiming hers with a deep-seated passion. Her world became a sea of sensation. Chakotay’s fingers, tangled in her hair, tugged her head back to expose her neck. His head dropped to the sensitive spot at the base of her neck. She gasped and rocked harder against him.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he moaned. “Your smell, your taste, … spirits, I want to taste you.” He bit her gently and she gasped.

“Taste me.” She ordered. Kathryn felt him shudder beneath her. He roughly lifted her off him, pushing her down against the couch cushions. He leaned over her and nipped her chin.

“All over,” he demanded.

“Yes,” she moaned, arching up off the couch in response. She felt him tear at her shirt to bare the skin beneath. His hot tongue ran a course down between her breasts as he freed them from the constraints of her bra. Kathryn twisted beneath him, trying to move his mouth to her right breast, but he moved with her, his tongue tracing lazy circles on her skin close to, and yet nowhere near, where she wanted him to be. She writhed beneath him.

She slid her hands up his back, pulling at his clothes. He sat up for a brief moment to strip off his shirt and then settled back down to lap at the curve of her right breast. Kathryn, feeling impatient, slid her fingers into his short jet-black hair in an attempt to force him to take her nipple into his mouth. She growled in frustration. His hair was too short, and he was still frustratingly far from the peak.

“Chakotay,” she ordered. He glanced up at her in amusement. She arched up trying to push her breast towards his mouth.

He laughed softly, “Be patient.” He gently brushed his lips across the swell of her breast.

“Do it now,” she growled.

He grinned, his dimples flashing, and slid his palms over her aching breasts. Kathryn squeezed her eyes shut and gasped. “You’re incredible.” He said softly. “So beautiful. So responsive.” He leaned forward again to kiss and suck his way across her breast, his mouth still infuriatingly close to its aching peak. “You taste so good,” he murmured. Kathryn thrust her fingers into his hair once more, this time gaining purchase and forcing his mouth over her nipple. She made a deep, satisfied sound, much like a purr. She could feel him smile against her skin before he covered her with his mouth and sucked hard.

Liquid heat pooled between her thighs. _Oh god, I’m going to come from just having his mouth on my breast._ She writhed with the pleasure of it. His hand snaked down her body, sliding under her clothes to cup her and rest against her, and she arched and cried out as her first orgasm rocked through her body.

After the aftershocks had passed Kathryn blinked and looked down at him. “That’s never happened before,” she said in a throaty voice.

“What’s that, love?” he asked wriggling his fingers against her very wet panties.

“I’ve never come from someone just resting their hand against me.”

Chakotay grinned a wolfish grin. “I haven’t finished tasting you yet.” Kathryn shuddered, not sure if her body could take any more.

“I might need a bit of a break…” she whimpered as his tongue slid slowly down her stomach. His hand left her panties and moved to slide her pants down her hips and off. She heard the muffled thump of her clothes hitting the floor.

“No rest for the wicked,” he murmured against the soft swell of her stomach.

“You’re the one who’s wicked.” She squirmed, trying to pull his head back up.

“No,” he batted her hands away, “You promised I could taste you all over. I’m not even half done.”

She wriggled, trying to sit up. “I get a taste too. Fair’s fair,” she grinned.

“That does sound fair,” he nodded. She moved to sit up. “After I’m done,” he said firmly and pushed her back down against the cushions.

Kathryn laughed, trying to sit up again. Chakotay seized her two wrists in one hand and pinned them up above her head. He dropped his head to her breast and slipped the fingers of his other hand under her panties.

“Be a good girl,” he murmured against her skin, sliding his fingers against her clit.

Kathryn shuddered and arched into his hand. Unbelievably, she was even more turned on now than she had been before. She struggled against his grip, thrilling in the sensation of being dominated. He sucked on her other breast as he slid one finger deep inside her, his thumb sliding in slow circles around her clit. Kathryn wildly thrust her hips up and fought against the hand that held her down. Making no progress, she turned her face and bit down on his forearm in frustration. He growled and thrust another finger inside her. Kathryn gasped, clenching around his fingers, straining and twisting against the hand that pinned her arms above her head. “Oh god, I can’t take much more,” she pleaded.

Chakotay released her hands and worked his way down her body, pushing her panties aside to lap at his fingers as they thrust in and out.

Gasping, she pulled his head against her. He slid his fingers slowly out and she moaned at the loss. Then moaned again when he replaced them with his tongue. She was so close. Another orgasm was cresting within her, a hot spiralling sensation twisting higher and higher and deeper and deeper. Her whole body was shaking; she was close to the brink. Chakotay hummed against her and the vibrating sensation threw her over the edge. She cried out his name and clenched her thighs around his head as she road wave after wave.

Again, after the aftershocks subsided, she glanced down at the incredibly beautiful man nestled between her thighs. “You are unbelievably good at that.”

“You are too.” He kissed her thigh. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” He sounded reverent.

“My turn!” Kathryn sat up with surprising speed, pushing him down onto the couch.


	4. The Morning After

Kathryn awoke the next morning in Chakotay’s bed. He was lying on his back, with one arm across her, his hand cupping her breast. She smiled into the morning light. Turning her head, she let her eyes run along his body. He was gorgeous. She hadn’t really taken the time last night to just look at him. Her eyes drank him in.

She let her mind drift back and she wondered why she wasn’t feeling any self-loathing or regret. She wasn’t a woman who leapt into bed with a stranger. Maybe it was because Chakotay didn’t feel at all like a stranger. They had met for the first time yesterday morning, but she felt like she’d known him for her whole life—as if he _was_ her whole life. _Don’t be ridiculous,_ she chided. She may feel like she’s known him for forever, but she can’t possibly be in love with him. She just met the man. _Do I love him?_ She shook her head. _Obviously, it’s been far too long since I’ve had sex. I’m confusing love and lust._

She felt his fingertips brush over her nipple and her body instantly reacted. She slid her hand down her stomach to gently rub at the wet and slippery folds between her thighs.

Chakotay opened his eyes and smiled at her, his gaze immediately darkened when he saw her fingers sliding back and forth along her clit. “You’re insatiable,” he accused, his voice rough with desire.

Kathryn laughed and turned to face him. He grasped her wrist, moving her hand away from her hot centre. Lifting her fingers to his lips, he lapped at them gently. “As much as I’d love to have you for breakfast, I’m afraid we don’t have the time.” He glanced over at the chronometer by her side of the bed.

Kathryn turned and looked at the timepiece and her eyes went wide, “We only have 20 minutes to get to work!”

“Don’t worry, love,” her heart leapt at the word _love_. “I have a favour I can call in. We can transport directly there. Do you want to have a quick shower before we go?”

She nodded and darted off to shower while he whipped up a quick breakfast and called in his favour. Twenty minutes later Kathryn found herself grinning stupidly at her console.

“Late night out?” Jaffen approached. His words were friendly, but his eyes were not.

“Yes,” she found herself replying. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. She really didn’t owe him an explanation. She turned back to her console. He grumbled something and then returned to his station. Kathryn sighed and keyed in her authorization code. She’d deal with Jaffen’s hurt ego later.


	5. A Crisis Awaits

Tom maneuvered the small shuttle to manually dock with the ship. It wasn’t easy docking with a powered down vessel that was adrift. He let out a slow breath when he heard the docking clamps slam into place.

“Okay, let’s find out what the hell happened here.” Tom made his way to the back of the shuttle where Neelix and Harry were already in their environmental suits.

“Harry, I know you’re feeling sick. Do you want to wait here? Neelix and I can scope out the joint and call for back-up if we need you.”

Harry’s jaw tensed, “I’m coming,” was all he said.

Tom nodded, “Comms on the whole time,” he ordered. Both men nodded in response. “Harry, you check Engineering. I’ll go to the Bridge. Neelix you have Sick Bay.” They made their way out of the shuttle. Tom turned to secure the hatch and then faced his small team, “I want a constant stream of chatter boys.” They agreed and headed off in separate directions.

“It’s not looking good,” Harry said, his voice crackling over the comm system. “Emergency power, and only in Engineering and on the bridge I think.”

“I’m not finding any bodies,” Neelix reported. “Lots of damaged equipment though.”

“Same here,” Tom’s jaw was getting tense. _What the hell happened here?_ He hoped he’d find some clue on the bridge. He wasn’t a religious man, but he prayed now for the safety of his wife and unborn child.

“I’m two decks from the bridge,” Tom reported.

“I’m in a Jeffries tube near Engineering, but there is too much debris. I have to go around.” Harry sounded like he was about to pass out.

“Harry, make your way back to the shuttle. Neelix, check on Engineering first, then loop back and check the Sick Bay.” Tom looked down at his tricorder, which indicated Harry’s position, “Avoid section 203, junction 27-alpha.”

“Belay that.” Harry hissed, “I’ll tell you when I’m done.”

Tom cringed. Harry sounded offended. Tom pushed through the hatch that led to the Captain’s Ready Room. “Make sure that you do, Harry,” Tom ceded. “It looks like we’re alone on Voyager. I need you to get her up and running.”

Harry grunted in response.

“I’m in Sick Bay. It’s a mess. No one is here.” Neelix reported.

“No doctor?” Tom grunted as he forced the doors to the bridge open.

“No.”

“Okay, go give Harry a hand. I’m on the bridge.” Tom squeezed through the small opening. He raised his palm light up and panned across the bridge. There was extensive damage on the bridge. It was amazing the ship was still in one piece.

“STOP!” a voice ordered behind him, “Turn around!”

Tom rolled his eyes and turned to face the Doctor, “Take it easy, Doc. It’s me.”

Tom watched as the EMH slumped in relief. “I found the Doc, or should I say the Emergency Command Hologram.”

Tom took a moment to jerry-rig a small device to network the Doctor into the environmental suit communication system. “Okay, Doc, you’re on.”

“Gentleman.” The Doctor said in greeting.

“Hey Doc,” Harry said. “I really could use your help.”

“He’s sick.” Tom filled in.

“Glad you are safe and sound, Doctor,” Neelix chimed in.

“Doc, can you jump directly to Harry and see if you can help him. He’s … uncomfortable.”

Harry grumbled, “My stomach is crammed with alien parasites doing back flips.”

“The holographic systems are down. I’m running through the mobile emitter. Can you make it to Sick Bay Ensign?”

“I can, but first I want to check Engineering.”

“Don’t. It’s sealed. Meet me in Sick Bay and I’ll explain everything.”

All four converged on Sick Bay with the Doctor recounting his last week of horror. Voyager had hit a subspace mine and the ship had been flooded with tetryon radiation. The Doctor could stabilize the crew, but with the radiation rising it was a lost cause. The Captain ordered everyone to the escape pods, activated the Emergency Command Hologram, and had asked him to vent the radiation and then rendezvous with the crew.

After the crew had vacated the ship, the Doctor began to assess the damage and determine the steps needed to vent the radiation when an enemy ship had locked on to Voyager. The Doctor had tried to negotiate a release. When that failed, he fired on the enemy ship to release the tractor beam. He evaded the ships searching for Voyager and hid Voyager inside a nebula. He did manage to vent the radiation, but many of the systems were beyond his ability to repair. He had been picking away at it bit by bit, but it was slow going.

“It wasn’t easy locating your signal,” Harry noted. They were all in Sick Bay watching the Doctor fiddle with Harry’s Environmental Suit to get the readings he needed.

“Well, I had to encrypt it! Every time I left the nebula I detected more ships searching for me.” The Doctor frowned at the readings. “You really are sick, Ensign.” Harry grumbled in response. The Doctor gathered several hyposprays along with two med kits. “Let’s get to the shuttle so I can treat you.”

Tom’s mind went into overdrive, his thoughts on B’Elanna and his unborn baby struggling with radiation poisoning and stranded. He was tempted to leave Harry, the Doctor, and Neelix with the ship and rescue her on his own. “Any idea who the attackers are?”

“No,” the Doctor sighed, “but I’ve analyzed their weapons signatures. They match the subspace mine. It was a deliberate attempt to disable Voyager.”

“It was a very good thing that you were here, Doctor!” Neelix said encouragingly.

“What about the rest of the crew?” Harry asked as they made their way back through the damaged ship to the small but intact shuttlecraft.

“Not a word.”


	6. Unhinged

Kathryn keyed the final code in to set the fusion chambers on a three-hour cycle. She was certain she had worked out the kinks in the process. Her new cycle should improve efficiency by 600%, perhaps more. She smiled broadly. She watched the cycle launch. Yes! It was working perfectly. She punched in series of commands to set up a program to monitor the cycle, and then she shot a grin over her shoulder at Jaffen, who had been watching her from his station for some time.

He walked over smiling, “What’s got you grinning so big, Kath?”

“Take a look,” she gestured with a flourish at her station.

He took a step back and looked her over top to bottom. Kathryn laughed and gently hit his shoulder, “Not me! My work.”

Jaffen shrugged and looked at her console. “Hm. Who came up with this?”

“Me,” she said proudly.

“I’ve never seen anyone run a fusion cycle like this before.”

She smiled even more, “It occurred to me when I was showering this morning.”

“You think about work when you’re showering?” He looked at her quizzically.

She shrugged, “I like my job.”

“A little too much,” he teased. His face grew serious and he leaned closer to her. “I like you a lot, Kath.”

Kathryn felt her stomach drop. She’d been putting this off for several days now. She braced herself for the uncomfortable conversation. “I like you too, Jaffen,” she patted his arm gently, in an almost conciliatory manner.

“I like you, and I want to spend my nights with you.” He said softly, “I think you’re attracted to me, but I keep getting mixed signals.” His eyes searched hers.

“I’m sorry, Jaffen.” She kicked herself for apologizing. She had no reason to apologize. “I think of you as a friend. A very good friend.”

He nodded, “You’ve been swept off your feet.”

She blushed in response.

“Who?” he asked.

“I’d rather not say,” Kathryn looked down.

“Okay,” he paused, “friends. I can do that.” He gently rested two of his fingers under her chin and slowly brought her eyes up to meet his. “Just promise me one thing.”

 _He really does have beautiful eyes_ , she thought.

“If this guy slips up and you leave him, use me as your rebound guy.”

Kathryn smiled, “I couldn’t do that to you.”

He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek, “I’d really like it if you did.” He smiled down at her and turned to go back to his station. “Good cycle you got there, Kath,” he called back over his shoulder.

Kathryn watched him for a moment and then turned back to her console. He was a good man. She hoped he found someone worthy of his affections. She watched the data stream across her console. _It is a damned good cycle_ , she grinned. She’d run it twice more after this to confirm the results and then she’d take it to the Supervisor to see if it should be implemented across the plant.

She watched the numbers run for a few moments longer. She tapped her fingers on the edge of the console feeling a bit restless. The monitoring program would message her if anything unexpected happened. Should she sneak away and see what Chakotay was up to? She dismissed the thought. They had, without any words being exchanged, come to some kind of tacit agreement to keep things completely professional at work, and completely unprofessional at home. She’d all but moved into his place at this point. She wondered if she should just let her place go. There was a housing shortage in this quarter, and Chakotay’s suite was certainly big enough for the two of them. She decided to bring it up later tonight.

She’d heard some people at lunch talking about the strange and grumbling Vulcan, which meant that Tuvok was back at work. She decided to go say hi and see how he was doing. Kathryn took the lift to the Thermionics Division. She was wandering past stations looking for the tall, dark Vulcan when she spotted him locked in a conversation with the Efficiency Monitor. _Now there’s a girl who likes her job just a bit too much._ Kathryn approached warily.

“… to my records, you have neglected to report for your last three inoculations. These inoculations are for your protection. A sick worker is not an efficient worker. Report to the infirmary,” she ordered.

Kathryn watched Tuvok. He seemed even worse than the last time she’d seen him. Sweat poured off his brow and he was shaking. “Seven of Nine,” he whispered harshly.

“What?” Annika looked at him sternly.

“Seven of Nine. It is your designation.” Tuvok took a jerky step towards Annika.

Kathryn watched Annika take a small step backwards, “My employee number is 8586.” Tuvok leapt forward and seized Annika’s face in his hands, “Take your hands off me! Stop, you’re hurting me!”

“Security!” someone beside Kathryn hollered.

Kathryn stood rooted to the ground, her mind frantically trying to process what she was seeing. _Mind meld_. “He’s not assaulting her,” she heard her own voice say softly in the din, while security personnel scrambled across the floor to seize Tuvok.

“WE DON’T BELONG HERE! THIS ISN’T RIGHT!” Tuvok bellowed, “WE DON’T BELONG HERE!” His frantic eyes locked with Kathryn’s. An intense sense of dread filled her. She sensed the rightness of his words, but couldn’t fathom the meaning.


	7. Illusory

Kathryn lay on the couch, her head in Chakotay’s lap. “So are you going to tell me about it?” he asked softly, stroking her hair. She loved the feel of his hands in her hair, and he seemed to love running his fingers through it.

Kathryn shook her head. She still had no words. “The Supervisor told me about the new fusion cycle. He said it looked promising.” Kathryn nodded dumbly.

Chakotay frowned and pulled her up into his arms, embracing her fully. His mouth close to her ear, “You can tell me anything. You know that.” She did know that.

“We don’t belong here,” Kathryn said softly.

“You and I don’t?” Chakotay looked into her eyes. He looked puzzled more than troubled.

“I don’t know.” The feeling of dread was subsiding.

“Why do you feel that way?” His eyes searched hers. Her breathing became ragged, partly from the turmoil in her mind, but mostly just from the physical closeness. Her body always reacted instantly to his.

She sighed and buried her face in his neck, “Tuvok shouted, ‘We don’t belong here,’ as they dragged him away. He’s right. I don’t know why he’s right, but he is.”

Chakotay stroked her hair. “Okay, so what do we do about it?” There was a long silence. Kathryn shivered a little, enjoying the sensation of his fingers moving on the back of her neck.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. “We find him, and we find out what he knows,” she mumbled against his throat.

Chakotay swallowed hard. She couldn’t tell if it was in response to what she said, or in response to her teeth dragging across his skin. He slid his hand down her side to her lower back and she pressed herself fully against him.

“Right now?” He asked, his voice rough.

She looked up into his eyes and saw his naked desire. “Tomorrow,” she answered pulling his mouth down to hers.

**********

Chakotay lay in his bed, his legs tangled with Kathryn’s, listening to her soft breathing. She had dropped off to sleep after their third round of lovemaking. He held her for a while, hoping her steady breathing would help him drift off as well, but it didn’t work. He gently disentangled himself and made his way across his room to pick up his medicine bundle.

He settled on the floor and unwrapped the precious bundle. Gently lifting the blackbird’s wing and a river stone off of the Akoonah, he cradled the device in his hands. He closed his eyes and murmured the ritual phrases to begin a vision quest.

“Akoocheemoya. I pray on this day to speak to my father, the one whom the wind called Kolopak. Though I am far from his bones, perhaps there is a spirit in these skies who will find him and honour him with my song.”

Chakotay opened his eyes and found himself in the dark woods on his home planet. Stars splayed across the dark night sky, and a gibbous moon lit the ground well enough for him to walk without stumbling. There was a fire in the distance, so he made his way to it. Seated on a log by the fire was his father, with a shining white arctic wolf at his feet. The wolf watched him as he approached. It was rare for him to see both his father and his animal guide in the same vision.

“Father,” he said respectfully as he settled beside him by the fire.

The wolf came and sat beside Chakotay, _We have been waiting. You were a long time coming_. The wolf’s thoughts sounded in his mind.

Chakotay looked into her bright blue eyes. “I will come more often if you ask it of me.” She tilted her head to the side, a wolf’s version of a shrug.

“What is it you need, son?” Kolopak used a long stick to nudge some fallen embers back toward the fire.

“I am feeling unsettled.”

“With good reason,” Kolopak turned to face Chakotay, his eyes piercing, almost accusing. “You are in a dream world.”

Chakotay looked around him confused. Did his father mean right now? What did that mean?

Kolopak scoffed, “Chakotay, there is nothing I can do to help you. You are lodged firmly in your dream world. When you awaken, you will know it for what it is. Go, and return again when you have awakened.” Kolopak waved his arm and the vision abruptly ended.

Chakotay found himself in the middle of his bedroom floor. He looked around the room, feeling displaced, naked, and exposed. Well, he was naked, so at least that part made sense. He rested his head on his knees and attempted to think his way out of it.

 _I am in a dream world. What does that mean? Am I deluding myself in some way?_ He turned his head and his eyes rested on Kathryn’s sleeping form. _Does she not love me?_ His heart clenched at the thought. Chakotay sighed and gently placed the blackbird’s wing and the river stone back on top of the Akoonah, wrapping up the medicine bundle. Tucking it safely away, he crawled back into bed beside Kathryn. She sighed in her sleep, pressing herself against him. He squeezed his eyes shut and drank in the feeling of her warm body up against his.

“I love you,” he whispered, holding her close.

“Love you,” she murmured in response. She did. He knew she did.


	8. The Plan

“Lieutenant Paris. Personal Log. Stardate 54597.9. The Doctor is driving me nuts! He is power hungry and focused on himself more than the ship. Damn it, okay that isn’t fair. He’s right, the Captain did leave him in charge, but that was when there were no other crew left on board. I wish he’d just be reasonable for once.” Tom ran his fingers through his hair, throwing things into a small pack as he rambled his log message, “So we’ve repaired primary systems. We have a lot left to do. The ships that were searching for us seem to have given up. Harry’s still scanning for our people, and if he doesn’t find anything in the next day I’m damned well leaving this ship and going to find B’Elanna myself. I know that will slow down repairs, but I have to find her. Harry and Neelix can get along fine without me. End log.”

Tom finished packing the bag and left it by the door to his quarters. He’d tell Harry first, then Neelix, and then the power-hungry Emergency Command Hologram. He stormed off to Engineering to find Harry.

“Kim to Paris,” Tom’s communicator crackled. Clearly the comm systems needed more work.

“Go ahead,” Tom clipped.

“I’ve found them, Tom. They’re on an M-class planet. At maximum warp we can be there in 3 days.”

Tom broke into a run, “Are you in Engineering?”

“Astrometrics.”

Tom turned and headed for Astrometrics. “Can the shuttle get there faster?”

“Probably not.” Harry responded in person as Tom came charging through the Astrometrics doors.

“Show me.” Tom pointed at the screen. “Do you see life signs? What do you have?”

“Here they are. They all seem fine. Tuvok’s and Vorik’s signs are erratic, but they are alive.” Harry stepped back and let Tom take over.

“Oh thank God,” Tom breathed, his eyes resting on the half-Klingon life signs. She was alive, pregnant, and her life signs were stable.

Tom tapped his comm badge. “Doctor,” Tom Barked, “I’m transferring coordinates to the helm. Set a course.”

“Lieutenant, I’d like to remind you that I outrank you and you are our pilot–“

“Just do it,” Tom roared. He broke the connection, “Fucking annoying pile of photons.”

Tom turned to face Harry, who was watching him warily. “She’s alive. She’s fine. We’ll get there in time, Tom.”

“I know,” he said softly. “He’s just getting to me…”

“Ya, me too.” Harry rested his hand on Tom’s shoulder.

Tom took a moment to collect himself. “Okay, so can we contact the leaders of this godforsaken planet? I’d like to find out if they’re holding our people, or if they are refugees, or what.”

Harry nodded, “Give me a minute.” Harry quickly punched in a series of commands and then looked back at Tom. “We can send a live stream in a day or so. I can relay text immediately.”

“Good enough. Tell them who we are. Let them know we’re coming to get our people; don’t let them know we’re damaged.”

Harry tapped away for a few moments. A light flickered on their display less than a minute later. “Well, they’re prompt!” Harry sounded surprised. “They’d like a copy of the crew manifest to confirm that the people listed are members of our crew.”

“Give it to them, along with bio records if needed.” Tom nodded. “I’ll be on the bridge.”

“Good luck,” Harry muttered, keying in the rest of the information.

**********

Tom gritted his teeth and tried to not glare at the Ambassador on the viewscreen.

“I have personally interviewed several of the individuals on your crew manifest. None of them know who you are, nor have they heard of a Starship Voyager.” Tom frowned, watching the Ambassador’s features. He couldn’t tell if the man was a very good liar, or if he truly believed the words he spoke.

“I’d like to speak to them myself,” Tom said as diplomatically as he could.

“That’s not possible,” The Ambassador countered.

 _It sure as hell is!_ “Look, you have nothing to lose by letting us talk to them,” Tom insisted.

“Unlike other planets in this system, we grant our guest workers the full protection of our laws,” the Ambassador said scathingly.

“What exactly are you protecting them from?” the Doctor piped up. Tom shot him a look. They had agreed that Tom would do the talking.

“Unscrupulous individuals attempting to acquire skilled labourers.” Clearly this Ambassador had a lowly opinion of them.

“We’re not trying to acquire labourers!” The Doctor said in an exasperated voice, “We’re trying to find our friends.”

The Ambassador looked incredulous, “Most of your _friends_ have excellent positions in the Central Power Facility in the capital. Why would any of them want to travel thousands of light years to a planet on the other side of the galaxy when they have safe, comfortable lives right here?”

“Because it isn’t their home,” Tom took a step toward the viewscreen.

“I suggest you look elsewhere to increase your labour supply, and if you attempt to disturb any of our citizens we will respond with force.” The Ambassador cut the communication channel.

Tom sighed and collapsed in the XO’s chair.

“There’s no way to beam them through the shield grid,” Harry reported.

“Take us out of orbit,” Tom ordered.

“Tom! We can’t leave them behind!” the Doctor protested.

 _As if I’d leave my wife and unborn child behind._ “No, Doc, we can’t. But we need them to think that we are.” The Doctor continued to look confused but keyed in the sequence to move the ship out of orbit.

Tom tapped his comm badge, “Paris to Neelix.”

“Neelix here.”

“Have you contacted any captains of vessels that recently visited Quarra?”

“Yes, none of them knew anything about the crew, but each one of them asked if I was looking for employment. There appears to be a severe labour shortage in this system.”

“Right. Neelix, you and I are going to find ourselves some new jobs at the main power facility.”

The Doctor interrupted, “Re-entering orbit might arouse their suspicion.”

“Not if we take my ship,” Neelix suggested.

“Good idea,” Tom nodded.

“Lieutenant, you’ve spoken directly with several government officials.” The Doctor moved to seat himself in the Captain’s chair. “You could be recognized.”

“Isn’t reconstructive surgery one of your specialties?” _Yes, this plan will work_. Tom felt some of the weight lift off his shoulders.


	9. The Heist

Neelix maneuvered his small vessel onto the landing pad that the Quarra authorities had directed them to use. Neelix babbled incessantly about how easy it was to get the jobs at the plant and that the plant even provided temporary housing for new employees. Tom nodded, only half listening. He had already located B’Elanna.

“Neelix, we may not be there long enough to use the temporary housing. I found B’Elanna. We’re going to grab her and get out of there.”

“What about the others?” Neelix frowned.

“One at a time for now, Neelix.”

“But if we blow our cover, we’ll only have one shot at this.” Neelix shook his head, “Doesn’t it make more sense to try to transport as many people up as possible?”

“If it’s quick and easy, then sure, we’ll do that. If not, we grab B’Elanna and we go. She can finish the repairs on the ship faster than the four of us put together. She might even know of a way to punch through the shields and get all of our crew in one go.”

Neelix scratched his whiskers, “That makes sense. I’ll stay behind if I can, and try to bring back the Captain.”

“Good idea,” Tom nodded.

“So where is she?” Neelix asked.

“Here,” Tom pointed to the display, “walking up to some sort of public building, a restaurant maybe. I’m going to go in and get her out. I want you waiting outside the building in case something happens.”

**********

B’Elanna waddled into Umali’s bar scanning the room looking for an empty table, hopefully an isolated one off to the side. She found what she was looking for and collapsed with a sigh into the chair. Her back ached, her feet ached—hell her whole body ached. She rested her head in her arms.

“Something to drink?” a waitress asked.

“Something cold please.”

“Juice?”

“Sure. Any kind is fine.” B’Elanna sighed and looked at her bag full of reports. For some reason she wasn’t able to fully focus at work, so she’d had to bring work home with her every night just to keep up. It wasn’t like her to struggle to keep up. What was wrong with her?

“B’Elanna,” a blond man with spikes on his forehead settled in the chair across from her. “God it’s good to see you B’E.” He clasped her hands in his.

She frowned and pulled her hands away from him. “Who are you, and how do you know my name?” she asked fiercely.

He paused and looked deeply into her eyes. He looked profoundly hurt. “You don’t know me?” he asked softly.

Still frowning, she examined his features. He seemed familiar. “Were you on my transport ship from Earth?”

There were several seconds of uncomfortable silence, and then he spoke again, “Ya, I was,” he responded, clearly disappointed. “I’m Tom.” His gaze dropped down to her belly, “How’s the baby?” His demeanour seemed casual and relaxed, but his eyes were intense. _And blue,_ she noted.

“It’s kicking and rolling around like mad. I don’t know what I’ve done to upset it.”

“Her,” Tom corrected.

“What do you mean?” Her eyes narrowed and she looked at him suspiciously.

“Just a feeling I have,” Tom shrugged. “You look tired. How about I walk you home?” he suggested.

B’Elanna’s eyes narrowed. This guy was acting really strangely, yet for some reason she was inclined to trust him. “I don’t know,” she hesitated.

“I won’t bite.” He smiled wickedly, and now she knew he was lying. He most certainly would bite, and maybe she would like it.

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted.

“Okay. Well, I hope I see you soon.” He kissed her cheek and left.

B’Elanna cupped her hand to her cheek. It tingled. It felt good. It felt like home, and she hadn’t felt that in months. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back into her hands. Oh this pregnancy was too much; it was messing with her head. That bizarre man with stunning blue eyes was right, she needed to get home. She left before her juice arrived.

She headed down the walkway toward the transport pad. Within moments she was aware of someone following her. Correction, two someones. Damn, she could fight off one for sure, but two was a bit of stretch with her giant belly in the way. She braced herself for the fight.

Tom came up beside her and gently touched her shoulder. “Tom to Voyager, I have B’Elanna.”

B’Elanna whirled to belt him in the stomach, but he was too quick for her. He pinned her arms at her sides and wisely stepped back so that his shins weren’t in striking distance of her feet. “I’m not going to hurt you.” He said as the blue, tingling haze of a transporter beam took them.

“Welcome back!” A cheery, half-bald man greeted her.

“Who the hell are you?” she spat, “and why have you people kidnapped me?” She grabbed a hypospray off the tray by the biobed and whirled to confront her captors.

“Tom?” the half-bald man frowned in question.

“I don’t know, Doc. She doesn’t remember me…. Can you help her?”

“Stay back!” B’Elanna growled, brandishing the hypospray.

“Computer, erect a level-4 containment field around Biobed 2.” The Doctor ordered and then stepped inside the protective ring. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly.

B’Elanna felt her Klingon hormones kicking in. This man was going to have several broken bones if he didn’t back off right this second. “I’ll kill you,” she hissed.

“Tom, I think it’s best if you leave,” the Doctor suggested.

“But Doc,” Tom protested.

“I promise I’ll call you as soon as I have figured out how to help her.” He spoke in a calm and steady voice, even as B’Elanna’s fist connected squarely with his jaw.

B’Elanna let her fists fly. She punched him repeatedly in the stomach, jaw, neck, and it had no effect other than hurting her hands. He hoisted himself up on the biobed and sat quietly, obviously waiting for her to tire herself out. She spun around to face Tom and discovered that he had gone, as ordered.

“What are you going to do to me?” she growled. Clearly he was a hologram, and she was currently trapped in this force field with him. She’d have to wait for the right moment to escape.

“Just talk,” he smiled kindly, “and if you give me your permission, then I’ll take some scans to see what they’ve done to you.” The doctor watched her quietly, clearly waiting for some kind of response.

“Go on,” she said, watching him carefully.

“Do you know me?” he asked.

B’Elanna leaned up against the wall and drew in slow breaths. Adrenaline still pumped through her body and her baby rolled uncomfortably in response. “No,” she growled. Looking down, she rested a hand on her belly, willing her baby to stop the internal barrage.

“I’m the Doctor, and I’m also the godfather of your soon-to-be-born baby girl.” He began recounting the story of how they first met.

**********

Tom made his way to the bridge. _She’s safe. The Doctor will figure out what they’ve done to her_. He worked at steadying his breathing. He stepped onto the bridge and Harry shot him a wide smile.

“How is she?” Harry asked.

“Not herself.” Tom sighed. “She looks fine, and the baby seems fine…”

Harry nodded, “I haven’t been able to contact Neelix. Why didn’t he transport up with you?”

“He thought we should try to snag the Captain too. He’s going to lay low for a few days and then see if he can get close to her. We may not hear from him for a while.”

Harry nodded again. “I hope B’Elanna recovers quickly. I need her help.” Harry moved toward the lift.

“Harry, take a few hours off before going back to Engineering. B’Elanna won’t let you rest at all after she recovers.”

“Good point. I’ll try to sleep.” Harry stepped into the lift.

Tom sighed, confirmed the autopilot sequence, and then paced about madly, waiting for the Doctor to call. After 2 hours of puttering around the bridge, pulling out broken equipment and tinkering with the systems he was capable of fixing, he broke down and called Sick Bay.

“Paris to the Doctor.”

“I’m here,” the Doctor responded.

“Is she okay?” His voice caught, and he damned himself for showing that vulnerability. This was not the time to get all choked up.

“I’m fine, Tom.” He heard B’Elanna respond over the comm. “If you have a minute, I’d really love to see you.”

“Be right there,” he said entering the lift with tears of relief sliding down his cheeks.


	10. In Pursuit of Truth

Kathryn walked up to her station. It wasn’t her shift, so she shouldn’t be here, but no one had noticed that yet. She quickly punched in some commands and scrolled through the resulting data. She felt someone come up behind her. She quickly cleared her screen and spun around to face the person.

“Oh Jaffen,” she sighed in relief.

He watched her carefully, “Something wrong?”

She gave him a quick hug. “Yes, but I don’t know enough about it yet to speak of it. Have you heard anything about Tuvok?”

“I heard that he was hospitalized yesterday. It came from the rumour mill though, so I have no idea if it’s true.” Jaffen watched her with concerned eyes.

“It’s true.” Kathryn confirmed. Chakotay and Kathryn had been digging up information all day. They’d be able to confirm that Tuvok had been taken to the regional hospital and that he was being treated for some kind of disease. Chakotay suspected it had something to do with the inoculations and was currently in the infirmary looking for answers.

“There are rumours about Chakotay too,” Jaffen said softly.

Kathryn held his gaze and worked to keep her voice light. “What about?”

“Managers aren’t supposed to date staff.” Kathryn cringed a little. She had suspected that would come out at some point. Chakotay said he didn’t care and that he’d find another job if he had to. He’d made it perfectly clear that she was more important to him than his job. He had offered to quit his position as soon as they had found out that they were breaking a rather serious rule, but she had convinced him to wait until he was called on it before taking any action. They’d been trying to dig up more information on Tuvok for the last two days and the task was significantly easier with Chakotay’s level of clearance, so he’d held onto his job because it helped them dig up answers for her questions about her friend. She was damned lucky he loved her that much.

“Did you report me?” she whispered.

“No, and I won’t. I’m your friend.”

Kathryn nodded in thanks. “Jaffen, I need to get to the bottom this. Several weeks ago Tuvok confronted me and said that he knew me, and more and more I’m feeling like what he said was true. I need to find him. He has answers. Will you help me?”

Jaffen nodded, “In any way that I can.”

**********

Chakotay tried to pry more info out of the medical database. Both Tuvok and Vorik, the only Vulcans who worked at the plant, were being held at the hospital for some neurological disease, and that seemed to be the only medical information that was disclosed. Chakotay had solicited the help of his Efficiency Monitor, pulling her in on the basis that if these two cases happened to be infectious it would badly impact plant efficiency.

A man in a dark uniform that Chakotay didn’t recognize entered the infirmary, “Excuse me,” he said.

“What can we do for you?” The Medic asked.

“I’m Inspector Yerid. I’m investigating the disappearance of one of your employees.”

“Who?” Chakotay asked.

“B’Elanna Torres.”

Annika glanced down at the data device in her hands. “She failed to report for work today.”

“What about this man?” He held up a picture of a fuzzy looking person with orange, spotted skin.

“Employee 9363,” Annika confirmed. “Today is his second day of employment. He has been assigned to the Primary Fusion Chamber. Why are you looking for him?”

“I believe he may know something about Torres’ disappearance. I’d like to see his personnel file and interview him as well.” Yerid looked Chakotay square in the eye. The man had an assessing quality to his gaze, weighing and measuring Chakotay’s reactions and words.

“We’ll have to clear it with the Supervisor.” Chakotay had the distinct feeling that this had something to do with Kathryn’s personal investigation.


	11. Abduction

Neelix prided himself on being a patient and tolerant man, but this situation was, quite frankly, driving him insane! He’d been working in the Primary Fusion Chamber for the past two days with Mulchaey and Celes, and neither of them recognized him, and what was worse they seemed suspicious of him. _Of me! I’m the friendliest person around!_ Neelix bristled.

He paused in his internal rant. He was fairly certain that he couldn’t save all of the Voyager crew on his own, so his best bet was to save either the Captain or the Commander. The only problem with that was, the few times he’d seen them, they were head-over-heals in love. How could he destroy that? Then again, how could he condemn all of his friends to this brainwashed substandard utopia?

“Bah,” he scoffed, “I’ll just go talk to Chakotay. He’s the most reasonable.” Neelix looked over his shoulder to see his teammates watching him nervously. He coughed a bit in an attempt to cover the fact that he had been talking to himself, and then hurried over to the station that they were manning to learn more about the plant’s primary chamber.

A few moments later fortune smiled on him. Chakotay showed up, with Seven and some strange looking man in tow. _Perfect! I’ll rescue them both!_

“Mr. Neelix?” The strange man’s level gaze fell on him.

“Yes! Hello, how are you?” Neelix bubbled over with friendliness.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions.” The man tilted his head, indicating that Neelix should follow. Neelix thought about asking why, but then decided to just seize the opportunity and fell in step beside Chakotay.

“Mr. Chakotay, so good to see you,” Neelix smiled up at Chakotay. Yes, he was certain he could rescue the Commander.

“Have we met before, Mr. Neelix?” Chakotay asked.

“Yes, many, many times, sir. But I’m afraid you wouldn’t remember.” Neelix’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s like you’re all stuck in some absurd dream world.”

Chakotay paused, “What did you just say?” The entire party stopped and turned to look at Neelix.

“Um... uh…. I said. I’m sorry. It was nothing. I’m having some trouble adjusting, Mr. Chakotay. Normally I’m the most friendliest, happiest person around, but here everyone is friendly and happy.” Neelix gestured wildly, in a wide arc, in an attempt to encompass everyone at the plant. “It kind of grates on the nerves actually,” he grumbled.

Chakotay looked like he was going to say something, but then let it go. He turned to face the stern-looking man in brown. “Inspector, I need a moment with Mr. Neelix to brief him on employee rights before engaging in a dialogue with a law enforcement officer.”

 _A law enforcement officer?_ Neelix pulled on his whiskers. _Time to get rescuing then!_

“Of course.” The Inspector nodded, allowing Neelix and Chakotay to pass him and enter Chakotay’s office.

Neelix turned and smiled broadly at Chakotay. Chakotay frowned and looked as if he was deciding what to do with him. “You said ‘dream world.’”

Neelix nodded emphatically, “Yes. You’re all completely delusional! Would you let me prove it to you?”

“Yes,” Chakotay nodded.

“Excellent!” Neelix lifted his hand and spoke into it fiercely and quickly, “Voyager, two to transport.” He reached out and put his hand on Chakotay’s arm. He sighed with relief when he saw the blue haze of the transporter beam settle over them. _Well, at least we have half of the command team back._ He glanced at the Inspector through the window in Chakotay’s office door and gave a saucy little wave to the inspector’s back as the last tendrils of sparkling blue mist enveloped him.


	12. AWOL

Kathryn frowned and checked the time again. Chakotay was supposed to meet her at Umali’s hours ago. Where was he? She sighed and vacated her table. She paid the waitress and slowly walked home. There was at least an hour until curfew, so she chose to walk to the furthest transport site. Her mind swirling on all the information she had gathered: 160 people, many of whom were human, were hired the same week as she had been. All of the new employees had been processed through Neuropathology at the local hospital. Tuvok had said something about meeting her in a hospital. Her records showed that she’d been there, but she didn’t remember it at all. _I need to know what you know, Tuvok._

She slowly made her way home. Tip-toeing through the darkness, she settled on the couch, determined to stay awake so she could report all that she had discovered to Chakotay. After one hour she began pacing. Two hours later, curfew had passed and she couldn’t wait around any longer. She grabbed her coat and made her way quietly through the building. Jaffen had enough security clearance to be able to remote access some of the plant’s terminals. She’d go to his place and see if she could connect through to Chakotay’s office.

She managed to evade the security patrols and made her way to Jaffen’s apartment. She had only been here once before, and it was in the day, but she was able to locate his unit. She tapped quietly on the door. She counted to ten and then rapped a little bit harder. She counted to ten again and was about to begin banging when the door swung open.

“Kath?” Jaffen stood in the doorway wearing only his pants and his hair was quite tousled. She hesitated a moment and then pushed past him into his apartment.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s late.”

“It’s past curfew. Did you sneak over?” He shook his head, as if to clear the last remnants of sleep.

“Chakotay never came home,” she whispered.

There was a prolonged silence. “Do you think he’s um… sleeping elsewhere?”

Kathryn blinked. “No,” she said when she realized what he was implying. “I… we’ve been digging for information, and I was wondering if we’d perhaps stumbled into something big, and that he might have been arrested.”

Jaffen whistled and moved to sit on his couch. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Would you let me use your access code to see if he’s still in his office first?”

Jaffen considered for a moment. “You know, I think I’d really feel a lot better about this if you told me what you knew first, Kath.” He watched her pace back and forth across his floor. “That code is traceable, both to me and to my home.”

She nodded, “Of course.” She continued to pace and explained what she had found out. Her hands flew and she spoke rapidly. She felt Jaffen’s eyes on her the whole time, and when she was done, she turned to face him, to gauge his reaction.

“So you’re saying that when Tuvok was crazy and practically assaulted you, that he was actually right? He _had_ met you at the hospital, and that you had been treated for some neurological disorder.” Jaffen looked incredulous, but not completely disbelieving.

“Dysphoria syndrome.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“Our Efficiency Monitor has been doing some digging. I found a terminal that she’d logged into recently that held all 160 employee records, mine included, open on the terminal. I read through the records.”

“What terminal? Why would she access confidential files outside of her office?”

Kathryn cleared her throat and looked down.

“Oh, Kath, you didn’t.”

Kathryn felt her cheeks grow hot. “She had asked me to step into her office for a moment to discuss my new fusion cycle, and then was distracted when speaking with the Supervisor. I didn’t log in, copy, or delete anything. I just read what was on her screen.”

“Let me get this straight. She called you in to her office, and while she was having a conversation with the Plant Super you chose to read confidential information off her screen.”

Kathryn sighed and sat beside him. “When you put it that way it sounds truly awful.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “it kind of is.”

Kathryn groaned and dropped her face into her hands. “So you won’t help me.”

“Oh I’ll help you.” He patted her shoulder, “There’s something wrong here…. 160 qualified workers all showing up at the plant within the same three-day period during a multi-decade labour shortage is strange enough on its own. Tuvok claims being substantiated, even partially, makes this whole thing reek of conspiracy.”

Kathryn looked up at him. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“And I don’t like the idea of someone messing with your head. Let’s see if we can find Chakotay.”

Kathryn smiled. “Thank you, Jaffen.” She leaned into him to give him a quick hug. He held her tight for a moment, seeming reluctant to let go, but then released her.

She watched as he settled in the chair in front of his computer and keyed in the codes to connect with the plant’s communication systems. “Do you know his terminal number?”

“43563,” she leaned over his shoulder as he keyed it in. They waited patiently. The connection dropped. He keyed the code in again. The screen flickered to life.

“Employees 1326 and 8584, why are you remote connecting to this terminal?” Annika’s steely gaze met Kathryn’s across the terminal connection.

“Why are you in Chakotay’s office?” Kathryn countered.

“I am aiding in the investigation of his disappearance.”

Kathryn grunted softly. She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “When did he go missing?” She asked, her voice sounding tight and strained.

“At 1400 hours,” Annika reported. “When did you last see him?” she demanded.

“At 1100 hours,” Kathryn said shaking her head. He had disappeared 4 hours before their rendezvous time.

“And you, Employee 1326?”

“Jaffen,” he corrected, “I haven’t seen Chakotay in days.”

“The Inspector may wish to speak with you both. If so, he will contact you shortly. Do not remote connect to this terminal again.” She cut the connection.

Jaffen sighed and leaned back, “Disappeared—just like that pregnant woman a few days ago.”

“Who was also one of the 160 employees.” Kathryn mumbled.

“She didn’t look human,” Jaffen noted.

“She’s half human,” Kathryn sank to the floor and hugged her knees.

Jaffen sat down on the floor beside her, “He’s a big guy, Kath. He can take care of himself.” He put his arm around her shoulder, “Why don’t you stay tonight, Kath, so you don’t have to be alone.” She shot him a hard look in response and he chuckled. “I’ll sleep out here. You can have my bed.”

The look in her eyes softened. “That’s really kind of you, Jaffen. I’ll stay, but I take the couch.”


	13. Anamnesis

“Hi,” a woman said leaning over his biobed.

“Why I am restrained?” Chakotay asked in a cold, hard voice.

“Because the Doctor needs to keep you perfectly still for the first round of treatment.”

“I don’t need treatment,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Ya, I didn’t think I needed it either,” she smiled. “Do you remember me, Chakotay?”

Chakotay frowned and looked into her eyes. He tried to shake his head, but the restraints wouldn’t allow it. “No,” he grunted. “If you let me go, I’d love to talk to you about what you remember of me.” His voice had a pleading quality to it, which made him grind his teeth even more.

The holographic man approached, “Commander, I’m sorry I don’t have the luxury of time to explain this procedure to you. It is extremely delicate. Your memory emgrams have been selectively manipulated. Some have been suppressed, others altered, others left intact. The simplest of the steps is to incite the suppressed memories. Subsequent phases of treatment will ameliorate altered memories. Are you ready?”

“No, and I do not consent!” Chakotay bellowed.

The Doctor sighed, “B’Elanna, although he’s been through a traumatic and harrowing experience, his cognitive abilities have not been compromised. He can reason and understand. I can’t treat him without his consent.”

Chakotay breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank the spirits the hologram had some ethical subroutines in place._

B’Elanna nodded. “Can you release him Doctor? So that we can talk?”

“He may try to run,” the Doctor hesitated.

B’Elanna stepped closer to the biobed, “Computer, erect a level-4 force field around Biobed 2.”

“Computer, remove constraints on Biobed 2,” the Doctor nodded to B’Elanna and left the room. “Time is short, Lieutenant.”

“So,” she smiled and seated herself beside him on the bed. “I’m B’Elanna.”

“I heard,” Chakotay scowled. “Listen, I have someone on Quarra who is going to be very worried about me. Can I contact her and let her know that I’m safe?”

“I’m sure I can arrange for that. Can we talk for a bit first?”

Chakotay shrugged in response. He wasn’t feeling like cooperating. He forced himself to at least appear like he was open to some kind of negotiation.

“I know that look, Chakotay. You use it when you’re bluffing,” she smiled. “You are one of the most important people in the world to me. I would never hurt you, well, almost never… sometimes you get between me and my engines, and then I might want to break your nose, but I’d never hurt you so bad you couldn’t recover, if you know what I mean. I have never ever lied to you, not in the 9 years we’ve known each other. I’m not lying to you now when I say that you need this surgical procedure.” She rested her hand on his arm and let her words sink in. After a moment she said softly, “Neelix told me about you and Kathryn.”

Chakotay sucked in a sharp breath. “I have to contact her,” his voice sounded strange and strangled to his own ears.

B’Elanna nodded, “You deserve her, you know. You’re a good match. I hope that when this is all over, she sees it for what it was. Not just a dream, you know?” Chakotay flinched at the word dream. B’Elanna continued, “What you two have is worth holding on to.” She watched him for a moment. “Let’s make a deal, you and me.” She tapped on the biobed’s control panel. “You look over this procedure. See if it looks reasonable to you. I will swear on the life of my unborn child that this is the exact procedure that you are undergoing, and I will stay by your side throughout the entire process. When it’s done, you can contact her.”

Chakotay frowned and looked at the screen, “And if I read through this procedure and don't agree to it?”

"Then no procedure,” she looked at him earnestly. "Please give this careful consideration. We need you back. People's lives are at stake." She sat back patiently as he read through the lengthy medical document.

“They did this to you?”

“Yes, four times now.”

“Did they lie to you?”

“Not once. The people of Quarra lied. They tried to separate Tom and me. My baby could have grown up never knowing her father.” She said the words softly, but there was fierceness behind them.

Chakotay’s gut wrenched at the thought. He didn’t know why that would tear at him, but it did. “I consent to the procedure. Let’s get this over with."


	14. Agonizing Clarity

“Chakotay,” he heard B’Elanna’s voice calling to him. “It’s done. How are you feeling?”

Memories assaulted him. They poured into his mind; it was like being pummelled by a waterfall. He moaned and tried to curl up, but the biobed wouldn’t let him. “Get me out of this thing,” he groaned.

B’Elanna worked to release the restraint. It clicked open and he slid off the biobed, his eyes seeing the Medical Bay as if it were for the first time and the thousandth time at once. “He clasped his head and moaned deeply, “Spirits, B’Elanna, how did you handle this?”

“Not well, as I’m sure you can imagine,” she laughed. “After my third session I beat the crap out of Tom.”

“He probably deserved it,” Chakotay slid off the biobed and curled up on the floor.

“No, he didn’t,” she settled on the floor beside him. “Do you still want to contact her?”

Chakotay looked up at B’Elanna with pained eyes. “What could I say? Kathryn, I love you, and I know you will no longer love me before the day is done?” He cringed and curled up even tighter. He heard her sigh and felt her stroke his forehead gently, as if he were a child.

“She will always love you, and you know it.”

Did he? He shook his head and moaned. “I’m having trouble thinking with my memories assaulting me like this. I’m having random flashbacks, out of order.”

“It passes fairly quickly,” she reassured him.

“How long?” he flinched, reliving a particularly gruesome memory of a Cardassian prison camp.

“Mine lasted about 30 minutes,” B’Elanna said softly, “You’re a bit older, so it might be a bit longer.” He nodded, clenching his jaw tight and bracing himself for another 45 minutes of hellish onslaught.

An hour later Chakotay strode on to the bridge. “Commander,” Harry greeted him, “It’s great to see you.”

“You too, Harry,” Chakotay smiled somewhat weakly.

“Bad trip, huh?” Tom asked.

“Very bad, and it’s about to get worse. How many of our people are down there?” Chakotay settled in the Captain’s seat, forcing his mind to stay focused on the matter at hand.

“158,” Harry reported.

“Any plans for getting them out?” Chakotay’s eyes met Tom’s.

“Yes, sir,” Tom filled him in on their plan to send Neelix back in to knock out the power grid. Quarra’s back-up systems would kick in within two seconds. It would be tight, but they should have enough of a window to beam everyone back aboard.

“And then one-by-one repeat that medical procedure?” Chakotay frowned.

“That’s the best we could come up with, Chakotay,” Tom shrugged.

“It’s a good plan, Tom. I’ll go back instead of Neelix. He’s likely been labelled a terrorist at this point, and with any luck my access codes will still get me in at the plant.”

Tom nodded, “And…”

Chakotay looked back up at him, “And what, Lieutenant?”

“And… B’E’lanna’s found a way to communicate with people on the planet without the message being intercepted by Quarra’s security forces.”

“How?”

“Using a triaxialating frequency on a covariant subspace band,” Harry explained. “It’s ingenious. I asked her how she came up with it, and she said she’d made you a promise,” Harry shook his head, clearly feeling that the promise didn’t explain the ingenuity.

“I don’t think I can make that call,” Chakotay frowned. “Remind me to thank B’Elanna later. I’ll be in the Captain’s Ready Room.”

“Poor guy,” he heard Tom mutter as he left the bridge. “He’s got heartbreak written all over his face.”

Chakotay sighed heavily and collapsed into Kathryn’s chair. Spirits, what was he going to do? What would he say? Would she hate him? Would she ever forgive him? He sat back and surrendered, allowing the full impact of the moment to strike him. What if he said nothing? What if he went down to the surface, didn’t drop the shield, and just… played house with Kathryn for the rest of his life? His heart clenched. He couldn’t. Spirits, how he wished he could, but he couldn’t do it.

Tears silently slid down his face. He’d already begun mourning the loss of what he’d had. He thought he had loved her before, but now he realized the full depth of his emotion. Every single atom of his being ached with it. Maybe he was blessed to have had what he did? Brief though it was.

For the thousandth time he cursed Neelix. _Fuzzy, cheerful, horrid creature._ He knew it wasn’t fair, but he couldn’t help himself. If Neelix hadn’t been there, would he still be in Kathryn’s arms? He doubled over in agony. “Oh Kathryn,” he moaned.

“Paris to Chakotay,” his comm badge alerted.

“Go ahead,” Chakotay responded, his voice cracking.

There was a short silence and then Tom said, “The shuttlepod is ready, sir.”

Chakotay wiped his face, straightened his uniform and stepped back on to the bridge, fully aware that his eyes were bloodshot and he looked like shit.

“Ok, how close can I land to my apartment?”

“You don’t want to go there. It’s crawling with law enforcement officers,” Harry said, pointedly looking down at his console.

“Where’s Kathryn? Can you locate her?” His voiced dropped to a whisper. _Damn you, get a hold of yourself. You have a job to do!_

“Yes, she’s about four blocks north of your apartment.”

Chakotay nodded. She was at Jaffen’s. He was glad she had support. “Okay, I’ll head there first and then to the plant.”


	15. Reconciling with Reality

Kathryn sat on Jaffen’s couch, her knees pulled in towards her chest, with her chin resting on top. She watched Jaffen working in his kitchen. The layout of his apartment was very similar to Chakotay’s. Her mind drifted back to her first night with Chakotay. She sighed heavily, _Will I ever see him again?_

“Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” Jaffen called out to her.

“Nothing.”

“I can replicate you some of that bitter black stuff that you like so much,” he teased lightly.

Kathryn scowled, “It’s called coffee.”

“Not much of a morning person are you?” He approached with a mug of hot coffee, placing it down in front of her. Frowning, she immediately scooped up the mug, took a few sips, and then placed it back down on the table. “That’s not fair of me. I’m sorry, Kath.” Jaffen patted her shoulder gently. “So, the Inspector said that I could go back to work, but you have to stay here.”

“I know what he said, Jaffen,” she said scathingly, “I was with you when he said it.” She felt like an utter failure. Her attempts at getting into the hospital last night had failed horrifically and resulted in her being questioned by authorities for over an hour. For the second time that night Jaffen had been awakened by banging on his door, but this time Kathryn had been accompanied by Inspector Yerid, who then interrogated Jaffen for almost an hour.

“I’m reminding you because you look like someone who is deliberately trying to forget what she was told.” He looked down at her with a rather fatherly expression on his face.

“Oh for God’s sake, Jaffen, just go already. I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself.” She was edgy and taking it out on him. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

“What’s going on in there, Kath? You’re plotting something and I want to know what it is.”

“No. You’re in deep enough. I draw the line here,” she stated in a steely voice.

“I’m a grown man, Kathryn. I can draw my own lines.” He squatted in front of her and his voice softened, “You don’t have to do this alone.”

Kathryn sighed, _Calm down, Kathryn. It’s not his fault that your plan didn’t work and you got caught._ She leaned back into the couch. “I promise to tell you before I do anything rash,” she conceded.

He shook his head slowly, “I wish I could believe you.”

“You can,” she said, placing her hand on his. “I promise. I will contact you before leaving your apartment.”

Resting his other hand on top of hers, he squeezed it gently, “Okay.” He gave her a quick hug and headed out the door.

She sighed and lay back on the couch to stare blankly up at the ceiling. She had to find a way to get back into the hospital to talk to Tuvok. She also needed to get her hands on Annika’s terminal and find out everything that icy blond had dug up. How was she going to do it?

She heard a strange sound coming from the bedroom. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. _Someone is in there_. She looked around the room for something to throw at the intruder. She grabbed her cup of not-so-steaming coffee and tiptoed to the entrance, ready to throw the mug in the person’s face.

“Kathryn,” Chakotay said softly.

She gasped and dropped the mug. “Chakotay!” she smiled broadly. She ran and jumped into his arms, knocking him backwards onto Jaffen’s bed. “Oh God, I thought I’d never see you again.” She pinned him to the bed and hugged him tight.

She lifted her head up to look down at him, tears streaming down her cheeks and a crooked, half-grin on her face. She needed to touch him, to know he was real. She began tugging at his shirt to pull it up and he seized her hands in one of his and shook his head. Slowly it sank in that he wasn’t overjoyed to see her. He looked grim and solemn, the way a man looks when he asks for a divorce. She cringed a little.

Slowly sitting up she looked down at him, “What is it?” she asked softly.

“I love you, Kathryn,” he whispered in a broken voice.

“I love you too,” she tried to smile, but her face just wouldn’t work. What was going on? If he loved her, why was he looking like death warmed over?

“I can’t bear to lose you, but the cost of staying with you is 158 people’s lives. Not just any lives, but the lives of our friends and family.” He squeezed his eyes shut. Agony painted on each and every curve and angle of his face.

His fingers bit painfully into her hips, but she wouldn’t cry out or move them for the life of her. “I don’t understand,” she said softly. “Why would you lose me?”

“Because you won’t have me.”

She laughed, a bit hysterically, “You’re insane. I’ll have you now, repeatedly, until you can’t stand for a week.”

Chakotay let a slow shuddering breath and then pulled her down against him. “You listen to me carefully.” She nodded against his chest. “When you awaken from this dream world, I want you to know deep in every single atom of your being that I love you with every part of my being, forever, undyingly. My love is not now, nor was it ever, affected by neurological surgery. Do you hear me?” He said it fiercely, his arms crushing her against his chest.

“You love me with every part of your being, forever, undyingly,” she echoed. Her mind quickly processed the fact that she had truly been in that hospital and had undergone surgery, even though she didn’t remember a single second of it.

“Good,” he nodded. “Then it’s time to go shut down the power plant.”

“Wait!” She looked up at him. She traced his lower lip with her finger. “First let me prove that I’d have you.”

He kissed her fingertip. “We can’t, love. You won’t forgive me for it tomorrow, and Tom’s counting on that grid going down within the hour.”

“Who’s Tom?” she asked leaning forward to nibble on his bottom lip.

“Quit stalling, woman, we have work to do.” He slapped her on her bottom, hard.

She wiggled against him. “I think you know what you need to do to get me to come along willingly,” she grinned wickedly.

He took a deep breath. “Kathryn, tomorrow, you damned well better appreciate the effort that this is taking. Get up—now,” he ordered.

She leaned down and bit his neck. “No.” She swirled her tongue around on the bite mark. He hissed and she felt him harden against her thigh. She smiled in response.

“Kathryn,” his voice was low and threatening. “People’s lives hang in the balance. This is not a game. We have a job to do, and we need to get up and do it now.”

“Chakotay, I think you’re implying that tomorrow, when I supposedly come to my senses, I’m going to, for some insane reason, stop loving you or stop allowing you to love me.” She raised her head to look into his eyes and found that he was holding his breath.

“In the event that I’m actually that insane, I think I should take full advantage of this moment.” She tilted her head to the side, “don’t you?”

He growled, pulling her head down to kiss her fiercely. His tongue thrust into her mouth while his hands roughly roamed her body. “Just a few kisses,” he panted heavily, “and then we have to go save the crew.”

“Oh no, love,” she smiled and pushed his shirt up, “I don’t do anything half way. I’m an all or nothing woman — and I want _all_ of you.” She dragged her nails down his chest.

“We can’t.”

“Oh yes we can and we will.” She leaned down to gently bite his nipple. “Will I remember this tomorrow?” she swirled her tongue on his chest.

He gasped and pulled her hips hard against his. “Yes,” he hissed.

“Good. Then I say this for both of us. I love you, Chakotay, and no goddamned neurological surgery will, now or ever, change that. I’m making love to you because _I_ want to. Not because of some altered mind state. Do you hear me, Chakotay?”

“I hear you,” he groaned. “Spirits, Kathryn, I hope you can forgive me. I can’t fight both you and myself.”

She smiled a slow, seductive smile, “Good.”

She captured his wrists in her hands and pinned them down to the bed on either side of his head. “How many minutes do we have?”

“Probably none.”

“Guess we better make this fast then,” she rocked herself hard against him. He bucked up against her in response. She sat up and quickly stripped off her clothes, and then leaned forward to quickly remove his.

“Will I remember how you feel when you’re inside me?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and sliding his hands up the curve her hips to gently cup her breasts.

Kathryn smiled with satisfaction. She kissed his stomach and inched her way lower, “Will I remember how good you taste?”

He slid his fingers into her hair but didn’t pull her closer to him. He shuddered, “Yes,” the word seemed wrenched from the very depths of his soul.

She thrilled in how he responded to her body. He was rock hard, the very tip of his shaft weeping. Kathryn licked it lightly, and he responded as if an electrical charge surged through his body. “Please,” his voice cracked. “I need to be inside you.”

Kathryn didn’t need to be asked twice. She straddled him and slowly pushed herself down on him. Grasping her hips, he pulled her down hard, sheathing himself in her hot, wet centre. Kathryn shuddered. Waves of warm, spiralling heat moved through her, starting at the apex of her thighs and radiating outwards. She growled, deep in her throat. Grasping his wrists, she pinned them down beside his head. Setting a slow, rhythmic pace, she leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Chakotay, I love how you feel deep inside me. I feel you pulsing, throbbing. I feel so full. Complete.” She squeezed his wrists and captured his mouth with hers. He moaned in response, countering her thrusts with his own.

He tore his mouth free, breathing in short and fast breaths, “So hot. So beautiful….” He lifted his head to nip at her shoulder.

Kathryn gasped and arched into him, their bodies coming into full contact for one long moment. “I want to stay like this forever,” she breathed. Chakotay moaned in response.

Kathryn felt the wave of an orgasm build inside her. Chakotay twisted his right arm and freed it, quickly moving it down to slide his fingers between her legs. His fingers found her clit and encircled it slowly. His fingers, coupled with the throbbing, hot shaft sliding in and out, in and out, threw her over the edge. She cried out his name, sitting up and leaning back to push herself down on him even harder. He bucked wildly. Her internal muscles clenching around him, while his left hand stroked and teased her right breast.

Kathryn collapsed against him, murmuring words of love. A second later he came, pushing hard into her and grunting her name. Kathryn shivered, aftershocks coursing through her.

“I sincerely hope I’m not stupid enough to give this up,” she murmured against his chest.

He gently stroked the nape of her neck, “You’re not stupid, Kathryn. You’re loyal to your convictions.”

“Then my convictions are wrong.”

Chakotay hugged her tightly, “Enough. We’ll deal with that tomorrow. Today we have a plant to shut down.” She sighed and climbed off him, her legs not quite working right. She smirked, remembering her promise to make love to him until he couldn’t walk for a week. _One day I will_ , she vowed.

“So, explain to me why it’s so important to this Tom fellow that we shut the plant down in the next hour.” Kathryn quickly pulled her clothes on. She turned to see Chakotay was already dressed and ready to go.

“Twenty minutes,” Chakotay corrected. He began explaining the plan to her while rushing her toward the front door.

“Wait!” she cried. She ran to access the computer and entered a message. She quickly caught up with Chakotay.

“What did you do?” he asked, as they swiftly made their way down to the walkways that led to the transport sites.

“I told Jaffen I was about to do something rash.”

Chakotay raised is eyebrows in response.

“I promised I’d tell him before I left his place. He was worried that I was about to do something reckless.”

“And were you?” Chakotay clasped her hand as the transporter whisked them to their destination.

“Of course,” she said as they stepped off the pad.

He leaned in close, “I’m assuming my access code still works. Any ideas on how we can shut this plant down quickly without hurting anyone?”

Kathryn grinned broadly, “Yes, I know exactly how to do that.”

Chakotay was right. His code got them in. They made their way to Kathryn's old workstation and found a woman stationed there. Chakotay bent to speak to the employee for a moment and then guided her to another location. Surprisingly, news of Chakotay’s disappearance was kept quiet enough that the staff still believed he was managing them. Kathryn keyed in the same input error that she had on her first day at the plant.

“Input error 415,” her computer announced loudly, “Command code violation 2308.”

A moment later Jaffen was by her side, “I’m thinking this is the something rash?” he asked softly.

“It is,” she whispered. “Come on…” she urged the computer, “shut down.” She looked up at Chakotay as he moved to join them.

“Warning, core overload detected.” The computer alerted, “Initiating emergency shutdown.” Kathryn smiled as the entire plant was plunged into darkness. Moments later she saw a blue, sparkling fog envelop her.


	16. The Painful Truth

Chakotay stepped into Sick Bay and saw Kathryn curled up on the floor by the biobed; his heart twisted. The Doctor was leaning over her, “Captain? Can I help you back onto the biobed?”

“No,” she said curtly, her voice low and haunted.

The Doctor hovered a moment and then walked away. Spotting Chakotay by the doors the Doctor motioned for him to follow. The Doctor quietly explained the situation and then granted Chakotay permission to stay in Sick Bay as long as the Captain needed. Leaving the Doctor in his office, Chakotay turned and quietly walked over to Kathryn.

“Back off, Doctor,” she barked.

“I’m not the Doctor,” Chakotay said softly, settling on the floor beside her.

Kathryn shuddered and curled up more. Chakotay reached out and gently rested his hand on her shoulder.

“The Doctor said you insisted on undergoing all five procedures at once,” he worked to keep his voice soft and gentle. Berating her wouldn’t help.

“I was a fool,” she whispered.

Chakotay sighed. _A fool for undergoing all five procedures? Or a fool for sleeping with me?_ Either way, she was radiating self-loathing. “I’ve never known you to be a fool, and I know you pretty well.”

Kathryn’s breathing was shallow and ragged. “I had no idea my mind could do this to me.”

“It’s an all out assault, isn’t it?”

“Horrendous.”

“I’m not sure I could have handled more than one session a day,” Chakotay gently squeezed her shoulder. “Why in the heavens did you do that to yourself?”

“The ship needs a captain,” she replied sharply.

“You’re always so hard on yourself, Kathryn.”

“Someone needs to be.”

“That’s not true and you know it.”

She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. “How much longer does this go on?”

“The memory onslaught?” Chakotay asked. She nodded slowly. “Probably another 3 to 4 hours.”

She moaned and curled up again. Chakotay resisted the temptation to lie down beside her and pull her to him. “It’s okay, love,” he said softly. “You’ll get through it.” He silently cursed himself. She’d never be able to forgive him if he kept slipping up like that. He steeled himself for both their sakes. “Do you want me to stay?” he asked, gently stroking her hair.

“Will this work if I’m unconscious?” she asked in a pained voice.

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then yes, I’d like you to stay.”

He nodded and leaned back against the biobed, his hand still stroking her hair.


	17. Departing

Kathryn sat in her quarters looking around at the strangely familiar yet strangely new surroundings. The Doctor had said that that particular effect wore off after a few days, but the “imposter” feeling, the sense that you didn’t quite fit in, took a while longer. The chime for her door sounded. “Come in,” she called.

Jaffen stepped in and looked around slowly. He smiled and opened his arms wide when he saw her. Kathryn laughed and stepped into his embrace.

“So you’re the Captain.”

“I am.”

“I can see why you’d rather live here,” he released her, still smiling.

“You’re welcome to join us. I could always use another skilled engineer.”

“That’s a tempting offer, Captain.”

“Kathryn,” she laughed bumping his shoulder with hers.

“Kathryn,” Jaffen smiled, “but I’ve been promoted!”

“Promoted?” she tilted her head.

“They had to replace our shift supervisor. Something about acquiring workers illegally.”

“Congratulations, you deserve it. So I can’t woo you away from that new position then, can I?”

“Oh you can woo me, but not with a job,” he flashed her a crooked grin. “In all seriousness, Kath, I really did come to Quarra looking for a better life. My memories weren’t tampered with. Now that I’ve been promoted, I feel like I’ve succeeded.”

Kathryn nodded, “You’re looking forward to the challenge.”

“I am,” he agreed, “and you’re taken.”

She wasn’t ready to face that yet, so she let it go. She hugged Jaffen tight. “I will always remember you.”

“Me too, Kath. You are burned and branded into my memory,” he kissed her lightly on the forehead and left.


	18. Justification and Justice

Kathryn had finally recovered from the intense memory amgram procedure—both the backflashes and the imposter feeling were gone. For the past four days she had only seen Chakotay when he was on duty. She couldn’t tell if he was giving her lots of space or avoiding her like the plague. Well, they certainly couldn’t walk on eggshells around each other for the next 30 years. She tapped her comm badge, “Janeway to Chakotay.”

“Yes, Captain,” he responded immediately.

“Are you on duty, Commander?”

“I am, Captain. Do you need help with something?”

“When are you off duty?” she asked, evading his question.

“In less than an hour,” he answered cautiously.

“Would you join me for dinner tonight?”

There was a moment of silence, and then he responded, “Yes.”

An hour later her chime rang, without a word Kathryn opened the door, and Chakotay quietly stepped in. “Captain,” he said formally, passing her a bottle of her favourite wine.

“Commander,” she smiled, remembering their first night together on Quarra when she had sat on his couch sipping wine, watching him cook her dinner — a dinner they had never eaten. “Are you hungry?” she asked.

His eyes met hers, _starving_ , they said. “Not really,” he voiced, standing awkwardly by the door.

“I’m not hungry either,” she opened the wine, poured two glasses and sat on her couch.

Chakotay paused for a moment and then moved to the couch. He sat an arm’s length away from her.

“I won’t bite,” she joked, and then bit her lip, her face growing hot. She certainly had bitten, quite a bit.

He looked up at her. His eyes flashed for a moment with something akin to anger, but his speech was slow and measured, “Kathryn, I can do this,” he said softly, “I can be your friend. But I can’t handle being teased.”

She had been braced for uncontrolled anger, for him to be demanding and unreasonable. For him to accuse her and say, ‘I would have given up my job for you, and you won’t do that for me!’ She hadn’t prepared for this. How could he accept mere friendship? Their life together on Quarra had been deeply loving and passionate. How could friendship ever be enough?

She sighed and looked into her glass. The dark liquid held no answers. She put it down and turned to face him. “Where do we go from here, Chakotay?”

“That is a question for you to answer,” he said slowly and deliberately. “I’ve made my feelings for you quite clear.”

She nodded in response. He sighed heavily and looked at his hands. The seconds stretched on, fine and thin, tense. “I don’t know what to say, Chakotay,” she shook her head slowly.

Again she saw the flash of anger, “It’s easy, Kathryn. You say, ‘I’m sorry, I was brainwashed. I didn’t know what I was saying.’” His voice dripped with self-loathing, and maybe a bit of loathing for her as well. “You say, ‘I was wrong. I never really loved you at all.’”

She flinched as if slapped. “That’s not true,” she whispered.

He shook his head angrily, “What, then? You loved me a week ago, but now you’re over it?”

“Stop,” she flinched. “Stop it.”

“Why?” He rose to his feet. His chest expanding and contracting quickly, “I have to go.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’m sorry, Kathryn. I can be the man you want me to be. I love you enough to do that, but I can’t support you through this decision. It’s too damned painful. Let me know when you decide what you want, and I’ll walk on whatever fine line you happen to draw.” He left.

The room echoed with his words. She felt nauseated. She bent over, resting her head between her knees breathing slowly, her mind spinning. She loved him, she knew that, and he loved her. The woman in her screamed that it should be simple: if two people love each other, they should be together. The captain in her weighed and measured: she could not sacrifice her crew’s safety for her own happiness. She simply couldn’t. She needed to talk this out.

She pulled herself to her feet and went in search of Tuvok. She found him in his quarters. Thankfully, he was off duty. He invited her in, and she quietly settled onto the floor beside his meditation lamp. “You were meditating,” she said softly. He nodded once and seated himself across from her, the lamp flickering between them.

The silence stretched out as he waited for her to continue. “Tuvok,” she looked up into his eyes, “I have a logic problem.”

He raised his eyebrow as if to say, _only one?_ “Please continue,” he stated evenly.

“On Quarra, the Commander and I had an intimate relationship.” She paused, “I fell in love with him.” She said softly, “I still love him.” She looked down at her hands, feeling like she was somehow confessing sins.

“I disagree with that assessment,” Tuvok said quietly. “I believe you have loved one another for quite some time.”

Kathryn slowly looked up to meet his gaze. “Perhaps, but this is different. Things are different.”

“You love him but you fear being with him. Why?” he asked.

“I’m afraid it will compromise my decision-making abilities,” she admitted.

“It has not in the past. Recent events in particular speak to that.”

“Do you really believe that?” Kathryn frowned, “Do you really believe that my decision-making abilities are not compromised by my heart?”

“Captain, you do not make decisions based solely on logic. You use instinct, and while it can lead to incorrect decisions being made, your intuition also allows you to make decisions when the facts are not available. You are a Captain because your instincts, more often than not, are correct, and because your decisions are sound. I would not serve under you if it were otherwise.”

Kathryn let his words sink in. It was possible for her to be in love and keep a level head. It was a moment-by-moment thing. “How will the Admiralty see it?”

“That is unclear. Your time on New Earth alone calls the entire relationship into question. The circumstances of this mission are unique, and I believe that the Admiralty would elect to disregard the relationship itself and focus on how each individual situation and decision was handled.”

“Isn’t entering into the relationship a decision?”

“Yes, but it is not a command decision.”

“Are you saying that I’m more likely to be measured by my command decisions than by my decisions to follow Starfleet’s rules of conduct to the letter?”

“Captain, if I may speak freely?”

“Of course,” she waved her hand. She had assumed he’d been speaking freely the entire time.

“There are many standards to which a Starfleet captain is held — celibacy is not one of them.”

Kathryn nodded, “Okay, if I am to follow you on your path of logic, I’m already involved with Chakotay, and whether or not we sleep together is a moot point.”

“Correct.”

“Do you feel he compromises my ability to make command decisions?”

“On the contrary, I believe you work together remarkably well.”

She felt a weight lift off her shoulders. _Tuvok condones this._ “One more issue, Tuvok.”

He raised an eyebrow in response.

“When we get home, if I am in a relationship with Chakotay, I won’t be able to defend the Maquis. My words will mean nothing, because my bias will be clear.”

“I suspect that this is already the case, Captain. If Starfleet elects to follow the letter of the law, you already meet the criteria for being a sympathizer.”

 _Because I didn’t throw them all in the brig,_ she thought.

“I believe that a judge has two possible methods of recourse. The first would be to try the Maquis based on the current political climate and the Federation’s current relationship with the Cardassians. In this case, your testimony will not aid former Maquis crewmembers. The second is to try the former Maquis based on their actions. With or without your testimony, their actions remain the same.”

“Are you saying that no matter what I do, I have no sway, no ability to help these people?” Kathryn shook her head, “I don’t believe that, Tuvok.”

“I believe your ability to sway the Admiralty is minimal Captain, as you have no control over the political situation.” Tuvok paused and leaned forward, his voice softening, “Captain, seven years ago the Federation declared the Maquis a terrorist organization for solely political purposes. Their decision was not based on the Maquis’ actions. Theft is not terrorism, nor is humanitarian aid.”

Kathryn frowned, “Are you saying that nothing I do matters.”

“On the contrary, Captain, everything you do matters. You have given the former Maquis repeated opportunities to prove themselves. They have accepted those opportunities and demonstrated they are both redeemable citizens and remarkable Starfleet officers.”

She nodded. Actions speak louder than words. “Tuvok, if you were my judge, and I was sleeping with my XO, would you strip me of my command?”

“Given the circumstances of this mission, I would not.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.


	19. Restitution

Chakotay sat on the edge of his bed, his head resting in his hands. _I can do this. I can._ He repeated. _I will get through this. It’s no different than New Earth. I’ve done it before, and I can do it again._ His chest felt like it was trapped in a vice. It was hard to breathe. He heard his door chime but ignored it. It chimed again.

“This is not a good time,” he growled.

He heard the door slide open despite him having locked it. He looked up and saw Kathryn standing in the doorway to his bedroom. He flinched and turned away from her. “I need time, Kathryn. A lot of it. Please go.”

“Chakotay,” she knelt in front of him.

He clenched his fists, his body shaking. “Damn you, Kathryn. Are you trying to kill me?” He scowled and looked her in the eye, expecting her to flinch from the raw emotion. She didn’t. She held his gaze. She reached up to cup his cheek and he pulled away from her, his cheek tingling from the brief contact.

“I’ve drawn my line,” she said softly, “I love you, Chakotay.”

He watched her warily, trying to gauge if this was really happening. “So, we move into your quarters?” he tested.

“Well, they are bigger,” she smiled and tilted her head, “and I have bathtub.”

He growled, a sound of satisfaction and anguish, and hauled her into his arms. “Kathryn, you better not change your mind about this tomorrow. I don’t think I could handle it.”

“My mind’s made up,” she promised and dropped her head to his shoulder. He shuddered and she clung to him even more tightly.

“It’s hard to believe,” he said raggedly.

“Let me prove it to you,” she kissed his neck lightly. He inhaled sharply, squeezing his eyes shut and dropping his head to her shoulder. Her lips felt like fire on his skin. His whole body was tense, alert, like a live wire. He felt her hands slide up under his tunic, her hot palms pressing firmly against his chest. It still hurt to breathe.

“First tell me why,” he pulled back and looked in her eyes. “Why now, why not before?”

“We crossed a line on Quarra. I couldn’t go back,” Kathryn confessed, sliding one hand out of his shirt to trace his tattoo with a fingertip, while the other roamed freely on his chest.

“We’ve tread near that line before,” Chakotay frowned. “Why is this different?”

Her eyes met his. “Tuvok showed me a flaw in my logic.”

The tension in his chest released a bit. “I’ll have to thank him.” He slid his fingers into her hair, loving the feel of her silky tresses sliding through his fingers. “Do we have to hide this from the crew?” His fingers slid down her neck. He rested his thumb on her thundering pulse at the base of her throat.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” she said in a deep, throaty voice.

“Do we announce it then?” His fingers traced her collarbone as she slid her hands up his back.

“That’d be awkward.”

“We could tip off Tom and let him win the seven-year bet,” Chakotay suggested. He moved his hands off her for a moment while she stripped his tunic away.

“That’s an idea,” Kathryn grinned, her attention on his chest. “We could get caught in the turbolift,” she grinned wickedly.

Chakotay laughed, “I’d love to get caught in the lift with you, Kathryn, but somehow I don’t think that’s how you want this to come out.” He felt all of the tension release from his chest. He could breathe again. She meant it. She really did. She wasn’t going back on this.

“We could send naughty messages to each other on the bridge and have one intentionally misfire…” she smiled and kissed his shoulder, “… to Harry,” she laughed wickedly.

“You are not taking this seriously,” he pinched her side and smiled when she yelped.

“You’re right,” she laughed, “I’m not. We will tell them, Chakotay. I don’t know how, but we will. If we stall long enough it will come out on its own, and perhaps that would be best.”

Chakotay nodded and worked at stripping off her uniform. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he breathed, trailing one finger down the side of her breast.

“Good,” she smiled, twisting and pushing her breast into his hand.

He brushed the palm of his hand across one of her nipples and she gasped, arching and thrusting her head backwards. He lay her down on his bed and quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes. Stretching out beside her, he slid his hands slowly up and down her body. Her hands also roamed and he thrilled in the sensation. Tendrils of want, need, lust, swirled in his belly.

“So I move in tonight?” Chakotay asked, his voice was rough with desire.

“Yes,” she moaned.

He pushed her legs apart and lightly traced circles on her thigh. “We’re a couple as soon as we’re off duty,” he demanded, teasing her slowly.

“Except on the bridge. We’re always on duty on the bridge.” She inched lower on the bed so that his hand slid up higher on her thigh. She grinned up at him.

“That means no sex on the bridge,” Chakotay shook his head.

“Or in my Ready Room,” she added.

“I don’t know if I can agree to that one. I have a lot of Ready Room fantasies,” Chakotay gasped as she quickly moved to pin him below her, straddling him and sliding his length against her. She was warm, wet, and very ready. Every part of him ached with want. He had to have her soon.

“We’ll talk about that one later then,” Kathryn dropped her head and sucked hard on one of his nipples.

“What about the Jeffries tubes?” He rasped, arching beneath her.

Kathryn laughed, her mouth still on his chest, “Are you planning on consummating our relationship on every part of the ship?”

“Yes,” he smiled, his eyes closed.

“I’ll think about that one. Engineering is definitely off limits.”

“Damn,” he swore softly. She laughed in response and then slowly guided him into her. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Her back was arched with her head was tilted back. She was biting her lip and riding him slowly. _Spirits, she is beautiful_.

“Mess Hall?” he asked, pinching one of her nipples and feeling her clench around him.

“Possibly,” she whispered and shuddered.

“Plasma Relay Room?” Chakotay grasped her hips and pulled her down on him hard.

“We could, but why would we want to?” Kathryn mumbled.

Chakotay smiled. She was close; he could feel it. “Briefing Room?”

“Mmm,” she moaned in response.

Chakotay slid his hand down between her thighs to lightly tease her clit. Feeling certain he could sway her, he asked in a rough voice, “Ready Room?”

“Yes,” she hissed. He felt her muscles clench tight around him. He held back as long as he could, watching her writhe above him. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he thrust wildly up against her and groaned as he came insider her. He heard her cry out, and then she collapsed against him shivering.

He slid his hand down her spine, enjoying the feel of her lying spent against him. “I’m holding you to that,” he smiled against her skin.

“I’m counting on it.”

— End —

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love feedback, particularly if I lost you somewhere, you feel parts were not true to the characters, or if you couldn't suspend your disbelief.


End file.
